Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of a Cleveland Browns helmet on a time out against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images.
Greg Joseph has encountered a wild ride since leaving the Minnesota Vikings.
He’s hopped, skipped, and jumped around the NFL and has now auditioned for the Cleveland Browns’ roster.
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Wednesday, “The Browns worked out Kaden Davis (signed), Josh Gable, Jaelen Gill (signed), Tre’Shaun Harrison, Greg Joseph, Joseph Ngata, Riley Patterson (signed), Andre Szymt.”
With any luck, Joseph will join the Browns’ practice squad and become an insurance policy for current kicker Dustin Hopkins.
Here’s Joseph’s NFL resume to date:
Joseph played for Minnesota from 2021 to 2023, securing the kicker job longer than most amid the last decade of Vikings football. Joseph racked up five game-winning field goals in 2022 — you read that right: five — a chief component in actionizing the Vikings’ NFL-record-setting 11-0 record in games decided by one score or less that season. Minnesota’s kicker won five football games for the team notoriously snakebitten by kicker-related tomfoolery.
Yet, in back-to-back seasons, 2022 and 2023, Joseph ranked as a bottom-six NFL kicker per overall field goal percentage. The man also struggled with extra points. Vikings fans “appreciated what they had” in Joseph, jaded from kickers of yesteryear who let them down in crucial, pressure-cooked moments. But as a matter of improvement, Minnesota strived to find a kicker who could do it all: consistently hit game-winning kicks, normal ones, and drill extra points.
So, the Vikings drafted coveted Alabama kicker Will Reichard in April, who has performed wonderfully since his arrival. Most Vikings fans are rather content with the young specialist.
After Joseph departed Minnesota, he signed with the Packers and engaged in an honest-to-goodness summer kicking competition, which Brayden Narveson ultimately won (a man who later lost his job). Joseph then hit the Lions’ practice squad for six days before the Giants plucked him for duty. He struggled in New York and was waived with an injury settlement.
That brought him to the Browns tryout this week as Joseph awaits his next assignment.
He’ll turn 31 next summer.
Cleveland is the NFL’s worst field-goal-kicking team through 14 weeks, connecting on 64% of kicks. It has also been eliminated from the playoffs, losing its 10th game of the season last weekend on the road at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.